UK and Kenya Strengthen Strategic Partnership with Vaccine Donation and Major Agreements

Strategic Insights -

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will host President Uhuru Kenyatta at Chequers, the official country residence in Buckinghamshire, for talks and reaffirm their countries' long-standing bilateral relations. The UK will send 817,000 COVID-19 vaccines to Kenya, boosting the country's vaccination programme, as part of their shared efforts to combat the pandemic. The two leaders will celebrate the strides made in the past 18 months under the Kenya-UK Strategic Partnership, which encompasses five pillars: Mutual Prosperity, Security and Stability, Sustainable Development, Climate Change, and People to People. The partnership has yielded significant results, including a new Economic Partnership Agreement to boost trade worth KES 200 billion a year and the UK investing KES 30 billion in 72 Kenyan companies that support 28,204 jobs in Kenya.

Key Takeaways:

  • The UK will donate 817,000 COVID-19 vaccines to Kenya, consisting of half through a direct bilateral donation and half through the UK's donation to the COVAX facility.
  • The two leaders will celebrate the new five-year Defence Cooperation Agreement, ensuring continued joint fight against Al-Shabaab and close cooperation between their militaries on land, sea, and air.
  • The partnership has led to significant investment in Kenya, including KES 1.165 billion in annual UK investment in the defence partnership and KES 30 billion in 72 Kenyan companies supporting 28,204 jobs.
  • The UK has invested KES 550 million in new funding to accelerate Kenya's climate transition, including projects on renewable energy, clean cooling, and forest restoration, such as the Kaptagat Forest project led by Kenyan marathon legend Eluid Kipchoge.
  • The two countries have strengthened cooperation on security, tackling shared threats including violent extremism and terrorism, as well as cooperation on COVID-19, with joint work on genomic sequencing and vaccination efforts.
  • They will also discuss regional security, the situation in Ethiopia, and plans for the Global Education Summit this week, as well as their collective leadership through the Commonwealth.

Statistics:

  • KES 817,000: The number of COVID-19 vaccines donated by the UK to Kenya.
  • KES 1.165 billion: The annual UK investment in the defence partnership with Kenya.
  • KES 30 billion: The amount invested by the UK in 72 Kenyan companies, which support 28,204 jobs in Kenya.
  • KES 200 billion: The trade worth that the new Economic Partnership Agreement is expected to boost per year.
  • KES 28 million: The amount of funding for projects on sanitation, health, education, and tackling GBV (Gender-Based Violence) in Kenya.
  • KES 5.8 billion: The amount contributed to the local economy by BATUK since 2016.
  • KES 550 million: The new UK funding to accelerate Kenya's climate transition.
  • 72: The number of Kenyan companies that the UK has invested in, supporting 28,204 jobs.
  • 1,100: The number of Kenyan soldiers trained by the UK every year, preparing for deployment to Somalia and to counter IEDs.
  • 28,204: The number of jobs supported by Kenyan companies that the UK has invested in.
  • 18 months: The amount of time since the last meeting in Downing Street between Prime Minister Boris Johnson and President Uhuru Kenyatta, during which significant progress has been made in the Kenya-UK Strategic Partnership.

Sources:

  • UK Government Prime Minister Boris Johnson
  • Manoah Esipisu, Kenyan High Commissioner to the UK
  • Jane Marriott, British High Commissioner to Kenya
  • The Kenya-UK Strategic Partnership
  • The five-year Defence Cooperation Agreement
  • The UK Space Agency
  • Contify.com